Horseshoe.



M. J. GRIFFIN.

, HORSESHOE.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1914.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

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MICHAEL J. GRIFFIN, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

HORSESHOE.

Application filed September 24, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL J GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and Improved Horseshoe, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates more especially to that class of horseshoes knownas cushion shoes, and an object of my invention among others is toprovide means for securely fastening the cushioning material in place.

One form of shoe embodying my invention and in the construction and useof which the objects herein set out, as well as others, may be attained,is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a topplan view of a horseshoe embodying my invention, the disposition of thecushioning material at the heel being illustrated in dotted outline.Fig. 2 is a detail view of a portion of a shoe illustrating the relativeposition of the fastening means before a cushion is secured in place.Fig. 3 is a like view in section on plane denoted by dotted line 33 ofFig. 1, showing the relative arrangement of the fastening prongs whenholding a cushion in place.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 5 denotes a shoe that may beformed from any suitable material and supplied with any desired meansfor securing it to the hoof of an animal, as herein shown nail holes 6to receive nails being provided. Heel extensions 7 project from the sideparts of the shoe at the heel toward each other to an extent to leave anopening 8 between the adjacent ends of said projections. A strip ofcushioning material 9 is located in a groove 10 in the upper surface ofthe shoe, this groove extending entirely around the shoe and being of awidth at the heel double that at the other portions of the shoe. Thisstrip 9 has one end 11 located at one side of the shoe at the heel, andthe strip extends across the heel to the point 12 where it is bent andthen is extended entirely around the shoe to the point 13 where it isagain bent, extending across the heel of the shoe to the point 1a whereit ends. In order to securely fasten this cushion in place I providesets of prongs 15, each set consisting of two prongs oppositely disposedand preferably out of line in the direction in which the prongs areSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 112, 1915.

Serial No. 863,295.

bent, that is, as herein shown they are out of line crosswise of thegroove. These prongs are so formed that a space 16 is provided betweenthem this space tapering from a wider dimension at the end of the prongsto a narrower dimension at the base of the prongs. I also dispose thesets of prongs so that one or more of the members of one set willcooperate with one or more members of another set in holding the cush-1011 in place.

In operation the cushion, formed of some tough flexible material, isplaced at the mouth of the groove and is driven down upon the prongs,and the tapered form of the opening between the members of each set willcause the prongs of each set to be bent away from each other, and asillustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Likewise, the members on adjacentsides of two sets, in thus assuming an outwardly curved form, as totheir companion members, will, when viewed lengthwise of the packing,form a wedge shaped relationship as illustrated in Fig. 3, this wedgeshaped form being smaller at the top than at the bottom, so that themembers of each set cooperate to prevent the cushion from beingdisplaced, and members of different sets also cooperate to the same end.

While I have shown and described herein a satisfactory arrangement ofprongs for carrying out my ideas, these may be departed from to agreater or lesser degree and yet be within the spirit and intent of theinvention.

It will be noted that the prongs in the groove have opposite flat facesand that these flat faces extend in the direction of the length of thegroove which is an effective way of facilitating the lateral fiexure ofthe prongs or their bending crosswise of said groove. It should be notedthat the points of the prongs extend short of the top plane of the shoewhich is a feature of importance in that in the first place these prongsdo not penetrate completely the cushioning material of whatevercharacter the same may be. In addition to this feature is the furtherequally important point that the cushioning material itself when drivenhome into the groove bends down these prongs so as to spread thecushioning material laterally and substantially and solidly compress itinto the groove. I might make it clear when I speak of the fact that theprongs do not shaped space extending longitudinally of the groove.

2. A horseshoe having means for attachment to a hoof and provided with agroove to receive a cushioning material, and prongs disposed in setslengthwise along said groove and rising from the bottom thereof, themembers of each set being arranged to provide a tapered space wider atthe point than at the base of the prongs, said tapered space extendinglongitudinally of the groove.

3. A horseshoe having means for attachment to a hoof and provided with agroove to receive a cushioning material, and sets of prongs rising fromthe bottom of said groove, the members of each set being disposed toprovide a space wider at the point than at the base of the prongs, andthe sets being arranged. one out of line with another lengthwise of saidgroove.

4:. A horseshoe having means for attachment to a hoof and containing agroove in its upper surface, prongs rising from the bottom of saidgroove and disposed in sets, the members of each set being arranged toprovide a space between them wider at the point than at the base of theprongs, and the sets being arranged one out of line of anotherlengthwise of the groove, and a cushioning material forced on to theends of said prongs whereby the members of each set are forced apart attheir points and the members of different sets are forced toward a planepassing between the sets.

5. A horse shoe having a groove for cushioning material, and prongs inthe groove having opposite fiat faces which extend in the direction ofthe length of said groove to provide for flexure of said prongscrosswise of said groove.

6. A horse shoe having a groove for cushioning material, and prongs inthe groove, the prongs being flexible transversely of the groove, andtheir points extending short of the top plane of the shoe.

7. A horse shoe having a groove for cushioning material, and prongs inthe groove, the prongs having opposite fiat faces and their pointsextending short of the top plane of the shoe.

,8. A horse shoe having a groove to receive cushioning material, andsets of prongs rising from the bottom of said groove, the sets being outof line with each other lengthwise of the groove.

9. A horse shoe having a groove to receive cushioning material, and setsof prongs rising from the bottom of said groove, the sets being out ofline with each other lengthwise of the groove and the prongs of each setbe ing out of line with each other crosswise of the groove.

10. A horse shoe having a groove to receive cushioning material, andalso having prongs in sets in the groove, the prongs of each set beingout of line with each other transversely of the groove.

11. A horse shoe having a longitudinally extending groove to receivecushioning material, and a series of prongs in the groove between theside walls thereof, said prongs being bendable by and on the applicationof the cushioning material in a direction to clamp said cushioningmaterial against the side walls of the groove.

MICHAEL J. GRIFFIN. Witneses A. E. OBRIEN, E. F. EATON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of (Patents. Washington, I). C.

